


Travelin Band

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 04:19:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1373674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t mind touring through here though...I can treat it like a Motley Crue video.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Travelin Band

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written in the Babylon universe, where Emily is a rock star, Hotch is Hotch, and the year is 2007.

“Are you're sure you're OK with me taking the room?” Emily asked as they pulled up in front of the Holiday Inn Express in Berkeley, California. 

It was a rainy April night and the band just performed a 50 minute set at the University with Pegasus and River’s Edge. It was their second show in town and went quite well. The audience was tipsy but adventurous. They sang along, danced, and enjoyed the atmosphere. Babylon was trying to get more of a hold on the West Coast. 

They were quite popular on the East Coast. They were even making major indie strides in Canada and Western Europe. Kate Joyner, their rep from the record company, got them ten shows in California, Oregon, and Washington State. It was a big deal and Babylon planned to make the most of it. Out on the road they also began the preliminaries of their third album. 

Emily wanted a true collaborative effort, encouraging her bandmates to write music, lyrics, and even thoughts on paper. The third time was a charm…this was the album that could really put them on the map. No one was upset about how far they'd come since getting together years ago. It had been a long time since Emily and Penelope decided to start a band out of boredom. 

Still, there was miles to go and more obstacles to conquer. Being a road band was exhausting but that was the way to get your name on the map. If it was good enough for the Grateful Dead, Babylon would be alright. It was another night, another show, and another Holiday Inn Express.

“It’s totally cool.” Penelope was already climbing out of the van. “I'm gonna bunk with Spencer and Clooney. We’ll be Elton John and Bernie Taupin; compare notes in the morning.”

“I like that plan.” Emily nodded.

She was coming down from the high of the evening. It was a good set, a good crowd, and good vibes. Emily felt her voice was just right and the band jammed. Fifteen minutes before they went onstage, Sam called her to say break a leg.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

“I'm an egomaniac.” Emily laughed. “The stage is my second home.”

“I wish I was there to cheer you on. I love you, Emily Prentiss.”

“Love you more. Sweet dreams.”

“I'm still hyped from the show.” Coop danced as they walked through the parking lot.

“That’s interesting because I'm exhausted.” Jason said.

“Grandpa.” Morgan said as he pretended to sneeze.

“I heard that.”

“I'm gonna have a clove.” Emily lagged behind when they finally got to the entrance. “Coop, you can stay with me if you want.”

“Yeah!”

“You weren’t lying when you said you were hyper.” Penelope laughed. “Goodnight, guys.”

“Are you alright out here?” Jason asked as he held open the door for everyone. Clooney, Derek’s four year old Rottweiler, brought up the rear.

“If there’s a serial killer lurking about,” Emily replied lighting a clove. “Coop will protect me.”

“Coop will most likely run like FloJo. Though he will scream like a bitch, alerting anyone in a ten mile radius of danger.” Coop smirked.

“Way to be a hero.”

“Just don’t stay out here too long. It’s chilly and that, along with the clove, can't be good for your voice.”

“I’ll have some tea before bed, Dad. I promise.” Emily crossed her heart.

“Goodnight.” Jason gave her the look before going into the hotel.

“This is a really pretty town.” Emily said, leaning against the stucco façade. “It would be nice to just come here and get away from the New York gridlock.”

“Kinda feels like Oz to me. I love the realness of New York; you can't get that anywhere on the California in my opinion. My dad was a cop in Fresno for years. I hated having to come out here in the summer. I love my old man but Manhattan was my first love.”

“Nice to visit but you wouldn’t want to live here?” Emily asked.

“It’s not even nice to visit.” Coop shrugged. “I don’t mind touring through here though...I can treat it like a Motley Crue video.”

“Oh my God,” she laughed and shook her head. “Please don’t.”

“There were some seriously cute girls there tonight. We’re bunking this go round so that’s weird. One day we’ll hit the almost big time, have our own rooms, and I will be getting my groupie on like a motherfucker. I'm so serious.”

“It’s good to have a dream, Coop. C'mon,” taking one last puff, Emily crushed her clove out in the cement astray. “I need to get some sleep.”

“You really were great tonight, Em.” He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked into the hotel. “The crowd was madly in love with you.”

***

She didn’t go straight to sleep; she never did really. After a hot shower and some tea, Emily relaxed on the bed. She listened to Carly Simon on her iPod. She had another clove out on her tiny balcony. She grabbed her acoustic guitar, strummed some chords and scribbled the beginnings of a song about California. 

It was nearly 2 a.m. when a knock on her door interrupted her songwriting. Emily moved on to writing about Miss Lonely, the subject of Bob Dylan’s _Like a Rolling Stone_. She and Morgan might really be able to make something out of that one. Hearing the knock made Emily’s stomach drop. 

Jason or her bandmates would’ve just called her cell phone. She tried to grab the lamp but it was nailed to the table. Running over to her satchel purse, Emily got her mace and made her way to the door. When she looked out of the peephole Emily gasped. Quickly opening the door, she launched herself into Hotch’s arms.

“Oh my God, what are you doing here?” she pulled him into the room and closed the door with her foot.

“I missed you.” Hotch held her closer, inhaling the scent of her skin. It really did feel like forever since they'd been together forever. “Goddamn, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.”

“I just decided to take some time off work. The amount of vacation I've accumulated is ridiculous; my Section Chief is giving me really dirty looks. A little birdie told me where you were staying. I got a plane straight from Dulles to Oakland International. Is that mace in your hand?”

“Don’t worry about that. You must be exhausted.” Emily caressed his face after putting the mace on the dresser. “It’s after two in the morning…five in your usual time zone. Men your age are usually sound asleep at this hour.”

“I’ve really missed those biting quips at my expense.” Hotch smiled. He put his hands on top of hers. “All I care about at this exact moment is holding you. All I care about is kissing you.”

Emily wasn’t going to disappoint him. It had been over six weeks since the couple saw each other. Hotch was always busy with work; taking cases in Fort Worth and Chicago. Emily had gigs and had even written a few music articles for indie zines. The long distance wasn’t easy. 

It wouldn’t be easy for anyone but sometimes Emily could hardly breathe. She wanted to hold him, touch him, and feel his breath on her naked skin. She knew that Hotch felt the same. She knew from Skype, texts, the occasional email, and phone calls.

“I love you, Aaron.” She murmured on his lips. They took a moment to breathe before the passionate kisses continued. “I'm so glad you're here.”

“It’s really good to see you.” he ran his fingers through her dark hair. “The whole flight from DC, this was all I thought about.”

“C'mon, let’s sit.”

She walked him across the room. Hotch sat down in the chair and pulled Emily into his lap. For a while they were just quiet, holding onto each other. She really couldn’t believe that he was there. 

They would see each other again; she was sure of that even if she had no idea when. The fact that it was right now made it difficult for Emily to contain her emotions. Aaron Hotchner wasn’t a conventional boyfriend by any stretch. His coming all the way across the country to surprise her was awesome.

“How long do I have you?” she whispered, her arms around him as if letting go meant that he wouldn’t be there anymore.

“I’ll stay on the tour with you guys and then fly back to New York. I don’t want to be demanding but I would love a long Manhattan weekend just for us.”

“Are you kidding? If you want it then you got it. Oh, I did promise my parents I’d have dinner with them the Sunday after I got back. You should join us…they should meet you.”

“Are you sure?” Hotch asked.

“I think it’s time. Only if you're comfortable, Hotch. It’s not my intent to put you on the spot but there are very few ways for me to stop this situation from being awkward.”

“I want to meet your parents.” He nodded. “I want them to know how happy we make each other despite the obstacles. I know they worry about you. I know your father was quite attached to the idea of you one day becoming Mrs. Sam Kassmeyer.”

“Oh God,” Emily covered her eyes and laughed. “He really, really was…it was a bit pitiful. They're going to love you. I know them well; you're their type.”

“How is Sam, by the way?” Hotch asked.

“He's wonderful. He loves his job, loves life, and loves Jessica Brooks. He called me tonight and told me to break a leg. I still love him madly; I always will.”

“I really want to go to bed with you.” Hotch kissed her. “I don’t mean that in a vulgar way, I just…I didn’t know it was possible to miss someone so much. I just want to hold you. I'm here and I don’t want to let go.”

“If you think I would ever turn down getting between the sheets with you, Aaron Hotchner, you're mad.”

Emily stood up. She took both of his hands, leading him from the chair to the bed. There was a smile on his face but something else in his eyes. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it but Hotch was holding something back. She knew him very well.

“Tell me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tippy toes so that they were nose to nose.

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me that thing that you're holding all the way in the back of your head. I might be able to handle it, I might not. But I want to know.”

“A couple of days ago I got some news about Adam.” Hotch said.

“Is he alright? I talked to him three weeks ago and he seemed to be doing OK. I promised him to come and visit when the band got back from tour and I meant that. I even emailed him some of the new guitar stuff I was doing…his doctors gave me permission.”

“They offered him a plea deal to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. It’s a serious felony but surely less than attempted murder. That’s the charge he would’ve faced for shooting Sam. For what happened to you, they plead down to one count of unlawful imprisonment.”

“Are they going to put him in prison, Aaron?” Emily asked. “I do not want him to go to prison. This wasn’t his fault.”

“The details are still being hammered out. It’s clear that Adam has mental issues. It’s also clear to prosecutors that being in residential care has improved his condition. The main concern is that he poses no danger to himself or anyone around him. I'm sure your lawyer will contact you once you're back in town. They're going to want you to make a victim impact statement.”

“I want to speak on his behalf.” 

“Emily, are you sure that…?”

“Adam is my friend.” She replied. “He was a good friend to me and a lot of other people. I refuse to condemn him for horrible things that happened to him in the past and created this incident. I want him to get help and if he can get it where he is then I want that to be available to him. 

“I know he won't get any help in Sing Sing. I want all of us to see the light at the end of this tunnel. It’s been almost a year. I know we’ll all move on at different paces but we should at least get the ball rolling. Adam deserves to move on just as much as Sam and I do.”

“You're amazing.” He kissed her. “Do you know how utterly amazing you are?”

“When I love someone, I never do it half-ass. I don’t think I’d even know how. Now let’s go to bed.”

“Are you sure you're OK?”

“How can I not be?” Emily unbuttoned his dress shirt. At least he wasn’t wearing a tie. That was one less item of clothing to take off. Emily was going to take it all off. “You're here with me, and I'm euphoric.”

“Euphoric,” Hotch grinned as they slipped under the sheets. Clothes were still being removed but the beginning stages of skin on skin made him sigh. “Yeah, that’s a good word for it.”

“I have so many more words.”

“And I want to hear all of them.” He kissed her. God it had been too long; it was always so long. “Whatever we do tonight, talk, kiss, make love…I want to do it until we pass out from exhaustion.”

“I'm a pretty talented girl, Agent Hotchner.” Emily smiled. “I think I can handle all three.”

***


End file.
